Higgs Branching Ratios in Constrained Minimal and Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetry Scenarios Surveyed

TL;DR

This survey compares Higgs boson decay modes in the CMSSM and NMSSM, highlighting the richer decay possibilities in the NMSSM and providing projections of branching ratios across parameter spaces.

Contribution

It systematically surveys Higgs decay modes in the NMSSM, contrasting them with the CMSSM, and proposes benchmark points for LHC searches.

Findings

Higgs decays in CMSSM mainly into b-quarks and tau-leptons.

NMSSM allows diverse decay channels including top pairs, lighter Higgs, and invisible modes.

Proposed benchmark points capture key NMSSM features.

Abstract

In the CMSSM the heaviest scalar and pseudo-scalar Higgs bosons decay largely into b-quarks and tau-leptons because of the large $\tan\beta$ values favored by the relic density. In the NMSSM the number of possible decay modes is much richer. In addition to the CMSSM-like scenarios, the decay of the heavy Higgs bosons is preferentially into top quark pairs (if kinematically allowed), lighter Higgs bosons or neutralinos, leading to invisible decays. We provide a scan over the NMSSM parameter space to project the 6D parameter space of the Higgs sector on the 3D space of the Higgs masses to determine the range of branching ratios as function of the Higgs boson mass for all Higgs bosons. Specific LHC benchmark points are proposed, which represent the salient NMSSM features.